Easily cleanable fluid mixing devices



P 5, 1961 E. P. AGHNIDES 2,998,923

EASILY CLEANABLE FLUID MIXING DEVICES Filed Feb. 12, 1957 FIG. 2A. Mi

FIG. 2. 29

84 84 a2 INVENTOR.

Elie P. Aghniqes 917m J IL A TTORNBS Unite 2,998,923 EASILY CLEANABLE FLUID MIXING DEVICES Elie P. Aglrnides, 46 W. 54th St., New York 19, N.Y. Filed Feb. 12, 1957, Ser. No. 639,648 5 Claims. (Cl. 239-106) The present invention relates to fluid mixing devices particularly of the type adapted to effect aeration of water, and is primarily concerned With improved structures for such devices which permit the interior of the fluid mixing Patent G become lodged within the mixing device structure itself,

and in order to assure proper operation of the mixing device or aerator, it is therefore, necessary that the interior of the device be cleaned from time to time. In the past, such cleaning operations have required that the fluid mixing device or aerator be disassembled and this has in turn raised the possibility of subsequent incorrect reassembly or loss of parts. In addition, by the very nature of the cleaning operations necessary heretofore, the cleaning process has required appreciable time. The present invention serves to obviate these difficulties and provides fluid mixing or aerating structures which may be cleaned on the interior thereof in a very simple manner without disassembling the device itself and without removing the said device from a source of fluid under pressure such as a faucet.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved fluid mixing device or aerator.

Another obiect of the present invention resides in the provision of a fluid mixing device or aerator which is readily cleanable on the interior thereof.

Still another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an improved fluid mixing device or aerator which may be readily cleaned without disassembly and without removal from a source of fluid under pressure.

A still further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a fluid mixing device or aerator which may be cleaned more quickly thanhas been the case heretofore.

In providing for the objects and advantages described previously, as well as for other objects and advantages which will become apparent to those skilled in the art,- the present invention contemplates the provision of a fluid mixing device or aerator comprising a casing having an inlet and adapted to be connected to a source of fluid under pressure, such as a water tap. The casing further defines an outlet end downstream of said inlet end and means are disposed within the casing intermediate the said inlet and outlet ends thereof for finely breaking up fluid under pressure, for instance from the aforementioncd water tap, whereby the said brokenup fluid may be intimately mixed with another fluid, such as atmospheric air, thereby to effect the desired fluid mixture. The last-named means disposed between the inlet and outlet ends of my improved fluid device are, in accordance with the present invention, movable, and these means may comprise a body acting as a diaphragm and cooperating with the interior of the casing or with other structures within the casing to provide one or more restricted apertures in at least one position of that body. Said body may be moved from one position to another position the casing whereby the aforementioned ice restricted aperture or apertures become much enlarged in size and this enlarging, of the said aperture or apertures permits the interior of the casing to be flooded whereby particles of foreign matter are caused to be Washed out of the interior of the said casing. By this arrangement, therefore, the device performs its normal aerating function when the aforementioned movable diaphragm or body structure is in at least one position within the casing; and by momentarily causing the said diaphragm structure and body to be moved to another position within the casing, ready cleaning of the casing interior is effected Without disassembly of the fluid mixing device and without removal of that device from the source of fluid under pressure. p

This result is achieved by a flooding action, produced by enlarging the water channels leading to the screen surfaces. It may be produced either by rotating the bottom half of the casing to cause relative axial movement of the parts or by pressing upwardly upon the screen assembly, to lift it free of inner support means. The turbulent flooding action washes dirt and particles off of the screen surface and out the air intake passages. To effect this result, the air intake passages terminate adjacent the surface of the upper screen.

The foregoing objects, advantages, construct-ion and operation of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section of one form of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 illustrates another form of the present invention.

I FIGURES 2A and 2B illustrate the upper and lower diaphragms respectively of the structure shown in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 3 illustrates still another form of the present invention.

One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURES 2, 2A and 2B. The device thus illustrated is essentially similar to FIGURES 16, 16A and 16B of my said prior copending application Serial No. 135,645

' now US. Patent No. 2,811,340 granted October 29, 1957.

In FIGURE 2, the aerator casing may include a pair of superposed diaphragms, the upper one of which has been designated 25 (FIGURE 2A) and the lower of which has been designated 26 (FIGURE 23). The upstream perforated disc 25 can be rotated by means of a handle 27 communicating with the upper rotatable disc 25 by means of a rod 28 thereby to align different sets of holes in the upper and lower discs 25 and 26.

As is illustrated in FIGURE 2A, the disc 25 has holes or apertures disposed along a single diameter, and these holes are of different sizes, i.e. outer holes 29 are of larger size than inner holes 30. Similarly, lower diaphragm 26 has a first row of holescomprising both small apertures 31 and large apertures 32,a further row of holes comprising only large apertures 33, and still another row of holes comprising only small apertures 34-. When handle 27 is so rotated that the apertures in disc 25 align with the small row of holes 34, only the central holes 3tl34 are open, whereby water passes through the interior of the casing onto mixing screens such as 35 and 36. When the disc 25 is so rotated that the apertures therein align with the large holes 33 in disc 26, only these large outer holes are in communication with one another, whereby water passes through the enlarged outer holes 29-33, to the mixing screen 35 adjacent the outer portions of thecasing interior. Finally, when the disc 25 is so aligned that the apertures thereof overlie apertures 31 and 32, all such apertures are open whereby water may flow through both the large holes 29-32 and through the smaller holes Patented Sept. 5, 1961 3 BIL-31, and passes onto both screens 35 and 36 throughout the casing interior.

It will be noted that if the screen 35 were eliminated, the passage of fluid through the outer holes 2933 only would effect a spray like an ordinary shower at the outlet of the device, and the interposition of screen 35 causes a diverging stream of droplets to emerge at the outlet of the device. When only the central holes are open, a coherent mixture of air and water discharges via both screens 35 and 36 through the outlet 37 of the device. Moreover, when all of the enlarged and restricted orifices in disc 25 are open, the two different types of streams are obtained simultaneously. Again the important consideration is, however, that in at least one position of the disc 25 the enlarged holes 29in said disc 25 are in communication with enlarged holes such as 32 and 33 in disc 26, whereby enlarged particles of foreign matter can be flushed from the interior of the casing.

This particular cleaning operation, wherein at least one large orifice is provided at a certain position" of the disc facing a large orifice in the other disc to permit washing out of particles which may have accumulated upstream of said disc, is also described in my prior U.S. Patent No. 2,811,340.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 3, and this particular form of the invention is similar to that previously described in FIGURE 12 of my above copending patent. Again, this further embodiment is characterized by a structure so arranged that, in a certain position of the device, at least one large orifice in one portion of the structure faces at least one large orifice inanother portion of said structure to permit the washing out of big particles which may have accumulated upstream of said portions. The particular aerator shown in FIGURE 3 comprises first and second casing bodies 40 and 41 thread-connected to one another at 58 to provide a mixing chamber 42 therebetween. Upper body 40 defines a water inlet 4-3 and also includes a restricted bore 44 and an enlarged bore 45 which slidably support a conical body 46 having a plurality of tapered webs 47 spaced around the periphery thereof. The lower body 41 defines a plurality of air inlets 48 adjacent the discharge end 49 of the device, and the said lower body 41 also includes an annulus S1 supporting a plurality of screens 52. Screens 52 are attached to a rod 53 comprising an extension of webbed conical body 46, and the lower end of the rod 53 includes a handle 54 which may be manually grasped adjacent the outlet end 49 of the overall device.

Water applied to inlet 43 of the device passes through orifices defined between bore 44 and rod 55, and then passes through the orifices defined between the outer surface of conical body 46, the inner walls of enlarged bore 4-5, and the several webs 47. The size of the orifices thus provided between the webbed conical body 46 and bore 45 depends upon the vertical position of body 46 in said bore 4'5; and as conical body 46 is lowered in position, the orifices provided on the interior of the device enlarge. This lowering may be effected by manually unscrewing body 41 part way down the upper casing body 48 which lowers the conical body 46. As a result, the orifices provided can be manually enlarged whereby enlarged particles of foreign matter on the interior of the casing can be flushed from the casing.

Another preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 1, and this particular form of the invention again includes means collectively movable within the aerator or fluid mixing device for increasing the size of the apertures provided, whereby internal flooding of the casing may be accomplished to effect cleaning of the device. In particular, the embodiment of FIGURE 1 comprises a casing portion which is threaded for connection to a fluid tap or water faucet 81. Member 80 has a lower flange 82. which supports an aerator casing 83 and the said casing 83 in turn has an inturned flange 84 adapted to overlie one end of flange 82. Flange 82 also has a shoulder 85 and a serrated opening 86 in the center thereof which is traversed by member 87. Member 87 also has a serrated edge 88 which rests on the aforementioned shoulder 85 of flange 82. In normal operation, water or fluid passes from tap 81 to the inlet end of the casing, and passes first through the upper serrated part 88 and then through the serrations 86 before reaching a plurality of screens 89. The said screens 89 are attached to member 87 by a centrally disposed screw 90 having a head 91 and member 87 includes a plurality of legs 92 which serve as stop elements when screw 90 is rotated to move screens 89 upwardly into their proper position.

After the device has been thus assembled, it can function in either of two ways. First, it can function as an aerator in which serrations or holes 86 and 88 form the holes of two upstream diaphragms, the lower one of which projects water or fluid onto screens 89. Air enters the outlet end of the aerator as indicated in FIGURE 1, and passes between the peripheries of screens 89 and the interior of casing 83 into the space downstream of holes 86 whereby the desired aeration may take place.

When it is desired to flood screens 89 for the purpose of cleaning them, it is possible to press head 91 or bolt 90 in an upward direction, in which event the upper end of the slots between legs 92 move to a position above the lower diaphragm or flange 82, and this movement effects an appreciable separation between serrations 86 and 88. As a result, water or fluid from tap 81 may now enter the space partially surrounded by legs 92 in great quantity and flood the lowermost portion of the casing so that a non-aerated stream of water emerges. This flooding of the casing interior permits any foreign matter lodged within the casing to wash out of the casing, particularly past the peripheries of screens 89, whereby ready cleaning of the device is accomplished without disassembly and without removing the aerator from tap 81.

While I have thus described preferred embodiments of the present invention, many variations will be suggested to those skilled in the art, and it must therefore be stressed that the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative and not limitative of my invention. All such variations as are in accord with the principles described are meant to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim to have invented:

l. A device for producing a coherent jet of water containing air bubbles comprising a chamber the inlet end of which is adapted for connection with the discharge end of a source of water under pressure, means including at least one orifice near the upstream end of the chamber for projecting a stream of water into the chamber with substantial velocity, an air port opening into the chamber through which air is induced by the stream of water, mixing means in the path of the stream after it has left the orifice and before the water is discharged from the chamber for finely breaking up the water in the stream and for offering sufficient resistance for thoroughly mixing it with air and for discharging the aerated liquid to form a coherent jet having small bubbles disseminated throughout the jet, said mixing means including a screen, the opening in said air port being larger than the holes in said screen and the air port extending from adjacent the upstream surface of the screen to a position outside the device at a level downstream the outlet of said orifice, and means for adjusting the size of said orifice to enable flooding of the screen and washing of any dirt on the screen out of the air port.

2. A- device as defined in claim 1 in which the air port extends generally parallel to the path of flow beginning adjacent the upstream surface of the screen and passing downstream to the outlet end of the device.

3. A device for producing a coherent jet of water containing, bubbles, comprising first and second. tubular concentric pipes, the insidevwall of one of which is con tiguous with the outside wall of the other, said pipes being movable relative to each other in a direction parallel to their axes, one of said pipes being a fluid intake pipe adapted for connection to a source of fluid and the other pipe constituting an outlet pipe, flow restricting means attached to and located across the opening of the intake pipe, said flow restricting means having an orifice therethrough, a screen located across the opening of the outlet pipe, a plunger carried by said screen and movable into and out of said orifice as the screen is moved respectively toward and away from said diaphragm, said device defining an air inlet, of larger cross-section than the holes in said screen, extending from adjacent the upstream surface of the screen to the outside of the device at a level below the flow restricting means whereby the device may be cleaned by moving the pipes apart to enlarge the elfective opening of the orifice to flood the screen and Wash dirt thereon out of the air intake.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 in which the air inlet has one end terminating adjacent the upstream surface of the screen and its other end at the outlet end of the device.

5. A device as defined in claim 3 having means carried by the plunger for limiting the downward motion of the plunger.

2,210,846 Aghnides Aug. 6, 1940 2,316,135 Turek et a1. Apr. 6, 1943 2,448,792 Fraser Sept. 7, 1948 2,487,023 Lehmann Nov. 1, 1949 2,575,222 Isenberg Nov. 13, 1951 2,583,232 Russel Ian. 22, 1952 2,600,752 Gettins June 17, 1952 2,675,218 Bletcher et a1. Apr. 13, 1954 2,707,624 Shames et a1. May 3, 1955 2,811,340 Aghnides Oct. 29, 51957 FOREIGN PATENTS 492,511 Belgium Mar. 7, 1953 1,000,443 France Oct. 10, 1951 

